More Than Just Undercover
by queenof-thedead05
Summary: Tony and Ziva are hiding more then just their identities when they go undercover. Will they be able to work things out between them? Some fluff, gets kind of dark around chapter 5;  Semi-AU, Please R&R! Tiva
1. Discovery

**Chapter 1: Discovery**

_Not sure where this is going, there is something at the end of this chapter that will help make a few things you read earlier make sense... (May need to read twice if you don't know). Please R&R!_

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><p>"Hey Zi?" Tony asks, not looking up from under his desk.<p>

"Yes, Tony?" Ziva answers as she scribbles the last of her note down on a pad of paper.

"Can you come here, I need an extra set of hands."

"Why can you not get McGee to help?" Ziva asks, still writing. McGee looks up from his desk beside Tony's as soon as he's heard his name.

"Uh, Tony… what are you doing?" He finally interjects.

"Unravelling the wires. There's too many of them! Two for the phone, one for the mouse, Internet connection—like, seriously I think it's about time we get wireless Internet in here, right?" Tony digresses. "They're all wrapped up together and I need help getting them apart."

"Oh, that's easy. I'll ju—" McGee starts as he stands from his chair.

"No!" Tony yells milliseconds before he hits his head off the underside of his desk. He tries to recover. "I mean, no. You're too big to have the both of us under here. Ziva's tiny, she'll fit better." It wasn't much of a save, and Tony knew how it sounded but he hoped Ziva didn't and would come to help anyway. Ziva and McGee share a look and Ziva slowly rises.

"Okay, Tony. What do you need me to do?" The Israeli turns and crouches beside Tony.

"Alright. Slide in here and take these two blue ones. Be careful not to unplug this one." Tony holds up two wires and thumbs the one closer to Ziva. Ziva takes in a breath and crawls in beside the Italian. She moves into a plank pose and lowers herself down until she's flat on the floor.  
>Tony watches the muscles in Ziva's back contort and flex as she moves to lie down beside his sideways form. Ziva reaches to take the two wires, but Tony won't let go. She thinks he's preoccupied with a few wires beside him until she looks up. She catches DiNozzo staring at her. She tries to play it off.<p>

"See something you like, Tony?" Suddenly Tony lets go of the wires

"Huh? What? Oh, no. I mean yes, but…" Ziva smiles and looks over at the stammering agent. Tony realises that she was joking and tries to laugh.

They argue lightly for a few more minutes as they try to place the wires correctly when they hear Gibbs' voice coming towards them.

"Gear up. Dead marine in a pool." The two agents both go to move at the same time and end up smacking into each other.

"Ow, Tony! That is my hand!" Ziva tries to whisper but fails.

"Well, it's not my fault it was so close to my feet!" Tony replies as they both try to get out a second time. The muscles that Tony had been mesmerized by before were out to play again and he couldn't help but touch them. He tries to play it off, and helps the Israeli out from under the desk by wrapping his hands around her waist. Her black blouse lifts slightly and Tony is able to feel the smooth skin beneath it with the pads of his pinkies. Ziva doesn't seem to catch this as anything more then him helping her out and thanks the Italian as she helps him. The two agents turn, adjust themselves and find the older agent staring at them, a coffee in hand. "Um, it's not what it looks like" Tony tries.

"Not at all… sir." Ziva looks away and scratches the back of her neck in embarrassment. Gibbs nods and turns to leave.

"Gear up." He repeats, McGee on his heels. The two other agents quickly make for their Go bags and chase after the men already in the elevator.

It was late March and the air was still slightly cool.  
>The team of agents exit their cars and make for the backyard of a woman named Alice Bernard. McGee breaks off from the group and walks over to the owner of the pool.<br>"Hi there. I'm Agent McGee, with NCIS I'm going to ask you a few questions if that's alright." Alice was in her late thirties and had short, dark hair. She held a ball of tissue tightly in her right hand, and the corner of a blanket that was covering her shaking frame in the other. She nodded and adjusted the quilt around her.

"My kids were wondering when I'd open the pool again, because it was staring to warm up a bit." She sniffs and wipes her nose with the tissue. "I went outside to remove the cover and as soon as I started rolling it in, I could smell it. It for sure smelled dead, but I just thought a raccoon or a cat fell in…" Again, Alice wiped the tissue across her nose. "I kept rolling and… I saw a hand! It was all puffed up and pale. Then I saw the rest." Alice finished and sniffed again. McGee nodded, trying to sympathize.

"Did you know the man?" McGee asked, looking for connections.

"I don't know any one in the army personally." More writing in the notebook. "Oh, wait, my husband had a friend I think. He was over here about a year ago for a poker game. I can't remember his name, but if you ask my husband, Walter, he might be able to tell you."

"Okay, where can I find your husband Mrs. Bernard?"

"I called him but I got his voicemail. He's probably in a meeting. Walter's working until five but he should be back here by six, I think."  
>McGee quickly wrote down everything the woman said and thanked her for her time.<p>

Ziva snapped pictures of the body, the sides of the pool and everything in between. Ducky had two techs fish the marine out of the water before starting his own work, as Tony was closer to the house, taking statements from neighbours.  
>"I don't see haemorrhaging with in the eyes, no froth around the mouth…" Ducky starts as he works with the body. He moves around the dead marine for a few more minutes before unbuttoning the marine's vest. A large slit could bee seen on the right side of the abdomen. "Oh, that's why. This poor man was stabbed. Death was caused by blood loss if I'm correct." Gibbs nods and asks,<p>

"Time of death, Doctor?" The older medical examiner does the math in his head, looks over the body again and replies.

"The skin hasn't started to slough off, which happens in about a week, so... five days?"

Tony has come over to the rest of the team and puts in his part.  
>"Best guess is that this is petty officer Joshua Mills. Went missing a little over a week ago. Left for work, never came home. Neighbours say he was a nice guy, but might have been getting into drugs and whatnot." Ducky begins packing up the body for transport and Gibbs walks back to his car as usual.<p>

Ziva is still taking snapshots of the crime scene when Tony walks up beside her. She's trying to get a close up of a few drops of blood found on the edge of the pool when DiNozzo lightly hip checks her. Ziva stumbles and her left foot slips into the pool. Her arms go up and Tony catches her around the waist, just before she falls into the pool altogether. Ziva wraps her arms around Tony, scared to let go in fear of falling in again.  
>Tony chuckles lightly and Ziva turns in his arms to look up at his smiling face. She lets go if him with her right arm and smacks him on the chest playfully.<p>

"That is not funny, Tony." Ziva recovers and finally lets go of the Italian.

"What? You scared of a little water?" Tony asks as he starts walking back to his SUV.

"Of course not. It's just the fact that there was a dead body in it for about five days that grosses me out." Ziva fixes the camera hanging around her neck and jogs up to walk beside Tony. She looks up at his side profile, and then looks away quickly when Tony looks down at her. "You can not be doing things like that."

"What? I can't poke fun at my partner?"

"In what sense do you mean 'partner'?" Ziva retorts. "You keep acting like this at work, they'll think you mean 'partner' differently then you do." The two agents pass a few cops and their conversation turns to a whisper.

"Who said _I_ meant a 'work' partner?" Again, Ziva looks up, but Tony catches her eye.

"You make it too obvious, Tony. They find out, I will have to leave."

"I don't think Gibbs will allow that. He won't let Vance take away my girlfriend."


	2. Connections

**Chapter 2: Connections**

_This is the chapter where some sh*t is going to start making a bit more sense... hopefully. **Please R&R!** I will be uploading the next chapter in a day or two (Mar. 6-7th)_

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><p>Tony types away at his computer, glancing over at the Israeli every few minutes. Ziva was also busy, scanning evidence reports and resent calls coming and going from the Bernard residence. Tony was supposed to be following up with Alice's husband, Walter. But had got caught up in the message he was about to send Ziva. He smirks, looks up at the woman across from him and clicks enter on the keyboard. He hears a whooshing sound come from his computer as the e-mail sent, and a few seconds later a hollow ding sound came from Ziva's. Ziva stops scrolling through the numerous calls on the Bernard call list and looks up once she notices it was from Tony. She hesitates, slightly worried about what might be inside the electronic envelope. Slowly, she moves the mouse up towards the 'open e-mail' button on the monitor.<p>

Just then, Gibbs walks into the squad room.  
>"What do we got?" He asks, motioning for McGee to put something on the main screen. Ziva leaves her desk before opening the e-mail and smirks at Tony, a disappointed look on his face.<p>

"Well, Officer Mills here had been with the marines for about seven years; nothing that special about him really. No medals, nothing outstanding…" McGee says scrolling through documents on a small tablet in his hands. A copy of the documents are present on the main screen.

"I found a few calls coming and going from a number starting about a month ago. Whoever it is called the Bernard's every few days, but the calls lasted no longer then a couple minutes." Ziva went back to her desk, highlights the single phone number on the call list and it pops up several times throughout it.

"McGee get a trace on it. DiNozzo," Gibbs adds. Tony and Ziva have headed back to their desks.

"Yes boss?"

"Weren't you supposed to contact Walter Bernard?" Gibbs looks at Tony slightly disappointed.

"On it now, boss." Tony quickly sits and gets back to typing. Thoughts of the e-mail have nearly completely vanished from his mind. And then Ziva takes a deep breath and he realizes she'd finally opened it. He smirks again, waiting for some sort of bigger reaction. A headshake, a naughty smile, maybe a sexy giggle, anything. He gets nothing.

Ziva stands and makes her way to Tony's desk.  
>"Not at work you idiot." She tosses a manila folder on his desk filled with information about Walter Bernard's past and tosses a second one with a list of reoccurring phone numbers onto McGee's desk before she leaves for Abby's lab.<br>Tony and McGee share a look and quickly get to work on the files, not wanting to make anything more awkward then they already are.

"I still can't get a hold of Bernard." Tony tells McGee a few minutes later. Tony hangs up on the dial tone and calls the Bernard family home. He gets Alice. "Hi Alice. It's Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo calling from NCIS." Tony puts on his fakest friendly voice. "We can't reach your husband on his cell, has he come home?"  
>McGee here a few mumbled words come from the other end before Tony responds. "Oh, okay. Well, we'll check into that for you. Thank you." Tony hangs up and turns to McGee, who was staring at the phone intently. "Mr. Bernard never came home at six. Wife says she hasn't been able to get past his voicemail since about noon." McGee nods and moves to type on his keyboard.<br>After several more minutes, a paper pops up on the main screen. It's a report of a John Doe being found in a thickly wooded area four miles from the Bernard's place.

The team heads out into the forest. Although the leaves where gone from most of the trees, the trunks were fairly close together and hard to manoeuvre through. Ducky makes it to the body first and with a small wallet sized photo quickly ID's the John Doe as Walter Bernard. Tony has taken over Ziva's job of snapping photos, as she hasn't come by yet. Tony checks his phone, but no new messages pop up.

"Same stab wound as Officer Mills there; white residue around his nose. No wallet, keys…" Ducky turns over the hands of the dead body. "Fingertips are still in tacked. Either they were sloppy in not wanting him ID'd, or they didn't care if he was." The doctor assumed as if he were the lead agent on the case. McGee takes notes on the subject just as Ziva walks in from around a thicket of bushes. Tony looks up and notices that his new girlfriend was avoiding his gaze. He lets it slide, hoping Ziva was just trying to get to work quickly.

Back at the NCIS building, the team starts piecing together their evidence.  
>"Not much to go on boss. With both victims dying from a stab wound to the gut and that they knew each other, there's next to nothing else connecting them."<p>

"There's always a connection. Ziver, what do you got?" Ziva clicks a couple buttons on a small remote and a tox screen pops up.

"The white power under Mr. Bernard's nose was cocaine. Wife says he never did drugs—"

"…Liar." Tony whispers. Ziva gives him a sideways glare and continues.

"Abby tested Mills for it and found only a fraction of cocaine left in his system. Could be the connection Tony missed." Ziva adds before sauntering off to her desk.

"McGee…" Gibbs ignores the comment and tries for more information.

"I connected the calls Ziva found. They originate from a small motel off of Third and Wellington. Drug smuggling gone bad, boss?" McGee questions.

"Could be. If it is, it won't be something small. Marines, cops, whatever; if government officers are involved, it's going to be big." Gibbs finishes and takes off towards MTAC.

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><p>"Gibbs, this is an important mission. It might catch us a murderer, bring down a ring of drug smuggling or, hopefully, both." Vance starts as the two older men stand in MTAC.<p>

"I can't have some newbie agents half-assing this hoping for a quick raise. I need good ones. Agents that will get the job done with 110% proficiency."

"You've picked the best, Vance." Gibbs steps in.

"You're the only pick I know that won't screw this up for NCIS."

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><p>"David, DiNozzo, McGee." Gibbs calls calmly as he makes he way down the stairs and into the squad room. "The Mills case. It's gone close to national. Vance and some members of NCIS stationed in LA have noted the same MO for three more murders. They've traced it back to a set of rooms in a hotel down on their end and I'm hoping we can bring down the bastards on this side too." The agents are now standing by their desks, not really comprehending it all. "We've set up and undercover mission. Two on the inside, one on surveillance." Gibbs says from the middle of the squad room. After hearing this, the three agents are almost certain who will be where and doing what job.<p>

"When does the mission start?" Ziva asks, standing tall.

"A week from today. The drug unit in NCIS will be putting out surveillance on the motel so they know more about what we're all dealing with. That's when we'll send in McGee to take over. You two will rent out a room for a while, get more Intel for the drug unit as well as dirt on the murders."

In unison, the three agents chant, "Yes, sir."

As the Italian and Israeli turn, they catch a glimpse of each other and hold the moment for a split second.  
>Tony is cunfused as to why she's mad at him, and Ziva doesn't understand why Tony's confused… this undercover mission was going to be hell of earth if they didn't sort things out. And fast.<p> 


	3. Missions

**Chapter 3: Missions**

_This is an intro to the actual mission. I don't know if I'll finish the undercover portion in Chapter 4 or go on to Chapter 5 too. This is just basically a filler chapter with a few semi-fluffy moments. Yes, Ziva is still a bit mad at Tony in this chapter although it might not seem like it. Please R&R!_

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><p>A week passes by quickly and soon McGee is relieving the two agents from the drug unit of their duties.<p>

"Ziva. We're ready over here. Agents Nunn and Greyman from DU are sending their information to their Super as well as Gibbs." McGee starts into his cell phone as he organizes the desk in front of him. "Gibbs will send me a copy so I can help you guys get a better insight on what's going on inside the motel." McGee was stationed in a room in a four star hotel across the street, making sure his cover wouldn't be blown.

"Thank you McGee. Tony and I are going in in a few minutes. Talk to you soon." Ziva presses the end call button on her phone. She was wearing her hair half up, in a loose ponytail and small (fake) gold earrings. She was busy pulling down the hem of her crop top to hide more skin when her low riders rode even lower then they had a few minutes before. She shifts in her seat beside Tony. They had yet to work out whatever was between them. "McGee is ready. We will leave soon, yes?" Tony nods, still checking out the motel in his rear-view mirror. Tony scratches his newly grown beard. Although short and stubbly, it makes him look ragged; better for undercover he originally thought. His jeans where dirty and larger then need be. His second zip-up hoodie is beginning to make him sweat and he casually takes it off.

"Zi," Tony begins just as Ziva is about to open the side door. She stops, slowly puts her hands in her lap and waits for Tony to continue. "You've… been ignoring me." He's cautious and lightly treads on the subject, knowing that the woman beside him could kill him using the things within the car, and still make it look like an accident.

"I have not been _ignoring_ you, Tony." Ziva adjusts herself so she's facing the Italian. "I'm just being careful. Can we talk ab—" Tony raises a hand to silence her and Ziva is slightly stunned by this gesture, but allows Tony to speak anyhow.

"You have. And we're talking about this now. I don't know what I've done, or for all I know haven't done, but whatever it is, I don't think I deserve _this_." Tony motions to the empty space between them. "I don't—" Ziva's cell phone interrupts Tony's rant and she is somewhat thankful.

"David," She informs the caller. "Oh, McGee. Yes we are still here. We are leaving right now actually." The Israeli hangs up, staring at Tony. "Looks like we're done for now." She states for clarification. She then turns towards her door, opens it and steps out; her cheap high heels clicking as she walks to the back of the rental. Tony huffs loudly and steps out as well. He moves to the trunk and retrieves two suitcases, gives one to Ziva, moves beside her and whispers,

"We're undercover as a couple, remember?" Ziva realizes what Tony means and moves closer to him, hoping the intimacy between them was believable. Quickly, Ziva pops a piece of green gum into her mouth and offers one to the man beside her. He declines and she stuffs the packet back into the small purse hanging from the inside of her elbow.

Thankfully, one of the rooms beside the main room integrated within the drug bust was empty. Ziva pulls her suitcase up a small step and moves to unlock the door to room 24. A sound is heard coming from the, now deemed, Drug Room. Their door unlocks at the same time the door to the Drug Room swings open. Tony pulls Ziva so she's facing him and quickly presses his lips to hers. She is suprised by the sudden gesture and swallows her gum by mistake. The man that walked out of the room watches as the two undercover agents slip into the room next to his, suitcases in tow, immersed in the passionate kiss between them.

Tony spins so Ziva is closer to the door once inside the safety of their motel room. Ziva closes the door with her elbow and is slammed back against it. Although this intimate interaction was originally to keep their cover from being blown, these extra few seconds that Tony's lips were against hers made her wonder what else was there.

Ziva wants to pull away from Tony, remembering that she was supposed to be mad at him, but he has her pinned against the flimsy motel door. Sure, she could say stop, turn her head to decline access, or even physically push him away… but does she really want to?

The kiss slows, and the pressure of each other's lips lessens after a minute or two. Tony puts his hands on the doorframe and pushes away from the Israeli, adding only a few millimetres between them.

"Nice to meet you too, Tony." Ziva says trying to make light of the situation they were in. Tony smirks and pushes away completely.

"I'm not Tony; I'm Kyle." Tony shoves a hand through his messy hair. Ziva nods,

"And I am Lindsey… right." She repeats to herself, making sure she's remembering correctly. Ziva is still leaning on the door, her hands supporting her lower back when Tony starts going through her suitcase.

"You have the mics, right? And the video necklace?" Ziva hums a yes to both his questions and helps him pull out the tangled wires connecting the mics to their corresponding receivers. All thoughts of the kiss are behind them, or at least behind Tony. Ziva pulls a laptop, recorder and several tapes from the side pocket of Tony's suitcase. She gives them to the Italian and he sets them up in an orderly fashion on top of the bedside table. Ziva neatly wraps up two small microphones around her hand and climbs onto the bed. She stands, lifts one of the panels on the roof and jumps, hoping to get inside the tight compartment above their room. The jump isn't high enough and she only gets one arm steady. Ziva dangles there for a second before she feels Tony beneath her.

"In a tight spot, are we?" Tony says, supporting Ziva by the upper thighs.

"Shut up and help me Tony!" She yell-whispers.

"What do you say?" Tony teases. Ziva isn't having any of it and kicks her leg out, catching Tony in the ribs. He laughs, only half pretending to be in real pain. Ziva, although still trying to be angry, can't help but smile at his goofiness.

Tony notices the light giggle Ziva let's go of and hopes she's not still mad at him, but when she looks down at Tony, he can't tell if the giggle from her was real, or if he'd imagined it.

Tony forgets about the kick and pushes Ziva's small, light body into the crawl space above them. Ziva manoeuvres across broken wood beams, rodent's droppings and frayed electrical wires in hopes of getting to a space above the Drug Room. The Israeli moved slowly, making sure not to put too much weight on any single beam. Below her, Ziva heard two voices. Both were male, about thirty years old.

"The next ones coming in a few minutes. Don't waste that shit. I gotta take a piss." Ziva listens as footsteps walk off to her far right.

"…yeaup…" the second man responded distracted from what sounded like directly below her feet.

The best chance to get the mic into their room without being noticed was now. Ziva lifts the corner of the ceiling panel closest to her. With her free hand (and help from her teeth) she peels off the sticky backing of the mic. She sticks the small black object to the side of the panel facing the room and slowly pushes the corner of the board back into place. Careful not to pinch the wire between the panel and the metal frame holding it in position, Ziva makes her way to another set of ceiling panels fairly far away, doing the same routine with the second microphone.

"Took you long enough," Tony says. Ziva's feet dangle from the ceiling, then suddenly she drops down, bounces onto the bed and steadys herself. Tony does not look up from the bed he is lying on. He flips through a TV Guide magazine, legs crossed and a moving picture of the room next door on his computer. Ziva ignores his comment and starts herself,

"They are expecting a… customer, in a few minutes." She walks up to the laptop and hits a few keys, eyeing the video of the Drug Room playing before her.

"Sorry, just deleted all my porn. I know how much you love it…" Tony smiles and sneaks a peek at Ziva, looking for a reaction, but notices she's not paying much attention.

"How'd you get this on here?" She asks, meaning the video she was watching. The two men were on a small couch, similar to the one in their room. One was organizing large rectangular packages of what looked like cocaine; the other was counting out a wad of cash over, and over again.

"Oh, the Tech department got some new equipment. This ones like a tiny toy car with a camera built in basically. McGeek is letting me test-drive it for the mission. Tony chuckles and goes back to his magazine.

An odd silence falls over the two agents. Ziva is surprised Tony hasn't tried to get into bed with her yet; she's not hopeful it will last over night however.

To fill the gap with something, Ziva tries for words.

"Tony, I've got an idea…"

"Shoot."

"It's for the mission," Ziva adds, and Tony looks over wondering what else it could be about. "What if we get McGee and Gibbs to take their next customer into custody and you go in his place, try to get a look into the room, maybe get an idea of what we're dealing with?" She words it as an answer, not really knowing why.

"Tony contemplates this and nods approvingly. Ziva smiles and reaches for her cell phone.


	4. Nigotiating

**Chapter 4: Nigotiating**

_I had too much going on in my head at once so the mission goes on through this entire chapter too. It will spill into Chapter 5 but hopefully NOT Chapter 6!_

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><p>A black NCIS issued SUV pulls up around the side of the motel, behind the old blue rental Tony and Ziva had pulled up in about half an hour before. A silver haired Gibbs jumps out and surveys his surroundings. Making sure he can't be spotted from the Drug Room, Gibbs moves to the main entrance of the motel.<p>

"McGee, what do you got?" Gibbs asks bluntly into the mic on his sleeve.

"We've got a male, about forty-five approaching the entrance from the north side, boss." McGee responds checking the street cameras from the safety of the hotel room.  
>Not knowing what the man that they were looking for looked like made the job that much harder. However, with Gibbs as the main agent behind this, he quickly picks up on the social ques associated with a drug user. Within seconds of hitting the streets, the customer is hauled away, back towards the black SUV.<p>

"Okay, Tony. It's all clear." McGee says into the mic connected to a headset. Tony calmly opens the door to his room and steps out. Ziva stays by the door and closes it as soon as the Italian leaves.  
>Tony slowly makes his way to the Drug Room, the whole time he's preparing himself for what outcomes could happen if not the one he wants. DiNozzo knocks on the door next to his and is answered by a voice in his ear.<p>

"One is just getting up, Tony." Ziva says into a mic as she looks at the video on Tony's laptop. Seconds pass and the door is pulled open a few centimetres.

"Can I help you?" The man asks. It's not same man that had seen Tony and Ziva an hour or so before and Tony now has the faces of both men plastered into his mind.

"I was told I could get some… help." Tony plays it off, hoping to sound as paranoid as a cocaine addict would in this kind of situation.

"What kind of _help?"_ The man asks. Tony isn't sure how to go about this.

"A friend of mine said you guys have what I need; coke?" Tony stiffs and pinches his nose quickly, faking what would normally be irritation due to the cocaine.

The man swallows, looks around and replies.

"As far as I'm concerned, I don't have what you need… unless of course you have what I need…"_  
>Now we're talking.<em> Tony thought.

"How much?"

"Small or large?"

"How. Much?" Tony repeats. He needs an answer if he wants this to go as planned. The man takes a second before responding.

"Ten for a baggy; hundred for a kilo." Tony's mouth opens in awe, amazed that people pay so much for something that could leave you dead. The man notices this and continues. "My prices are reasonable. If you think they're bad, you're not who I think you are.  
>Ziva watched from their room. She can hear the conversation and realizes it's going downhill fast.<p>

"C'mon Tony, think fast." She whispers to the empty room. Ziva hears Tony stutter through the mic and get up to leave the room.

"I know… they-they're reasonable. It's just I—"

"It is just that we did not bring that much with us…" Ziva moves up to Tony and presses against him.

"Then take a few baggies. They're three ounces a pop." The man negotiates.

"We need a kilo…" Tony interrupts. He knows that the more he gets, the longer the police will be able to hold the two men in custody.

"Dude what is taking so long?" The taller man that had seen the couple kissing earlier that day steps into view. "Hey, I saw you two. You're next door!" The two men tense quickly.

"We're in town, needed a place to stay is all." Tony covers again. Ziva is throwing her flirty eyes at both the men.

"I am sure we can work out a deal. We were friends with Joshua…" The taller man hangs his head,

"He was a good guy, Josh." He eyes the two customers in front of him. "Mark, let these nice people in."

Tony and Ziva walk into the room, still without drugs or information about the murders.

"I heard he was stabbed." Tony states as he sits on the couch across from the man named Mark. He notices that the drugs and wads of cash earlier seen on the hidden camera were all gone. Hidden from view and for good reason. These were professional guys working for guys who work for even more professional guys. Ziva sits across Tony's lap, her back on the armrest and her feet hanging off the side. The taller one nods.

"He got us some trades on his ships. Nice guy." The man turns his gaze to Ziva. "Now, about that deal."

"Do you know anybody that could've wanted to kill him?" Tony interjects hoping to spare a few extra minutes. Mark huffs and leans back in his chair, wanting only to get the drug deal over with.

"There are lots of people who hated Josh, don't know why they would though." Again the tall man's eyes flit to the Israeli. He takes a step closer and continues. "Do you two want what you need or not?" Ziva smirks, her gaze held by the man.

"Yes. But how are we ever to pay you?" Ziva fakes modesty and tilts her head to the right just slightly.  
>Tony knew before Ziva said that they didn't have enough money, something terrible could happen. It was the best way to save themselves a few minutes prior, but if they were to lie and say they do have the money just to get Ziva out of the situation… who knows what these people do to liars. The taller man smiles.<p>

"We can do fifty for the kilo, and get a few rounds with the girl." He says it as if knowing Tony wouldn't mind.  
>The Italian knows this is all part of the plan, and Ziva can handle herself. If things start to go sideways, the ex-Mossad agent can easily fight her way out, and they can add the charge of attempted rape to their list of wrong doings. But that was asking too much of a couple undercover NCIS agents.<p>

"No way." Simple answer. The two words flew from Tony's lips faster then even Ziva thought possible. She turns to him wide-eyed, telling him that she can do it. That she can help put these guys away longer. They needed the deal to pull through so they can bring in the men and get questions about the two murders answered.

"Why not… _Kyle_?" Ziva asks, really wondering. She knew just as well that the drug bust needed to pull through if they wanted answers. The look that Ziva passed to Tony said more then just the single _why_ however.

"Ì don't want to watch my girl get passed around is all." Tony answers completely honestly. Ziva realizes he's not just talking to keep them covered, he's saying this to her for real as well. The Israeli contemplates this for only a second.

"Kyle is right. Can we do seventy-five and call it even?" The smile on the taller man's face fades and is replaced with the most serious, blunt looking expression Ziva's seen since… well, since she'd last seen her father. "…We knew Walter too." She adds, hoping these small connections could get them off for cheap.

"I don't care who you knew. They're dead. Dead because they couldn't realize who was a bad sell!" The man's voice rises and he steps closer to the two agents. Tony flinches, not to get further from the advancing man, but to get ready to stand and fight.

"Yo, Chris. It's cool man, just take the seventy-five and we can move on." Mark stands slowly from his chair, eyeing Ziva but in a more brotherly way.

"I want my money in full, or a quick one with delicious here." Chris takes Ziva by the upper arm and Tony quickly wraps his arms around Ziva's waist before standing too. Chris turns suddenly and pulls a small gun from the back of his pants. He points it at Tony's head and Tony quite reluctantly lets go of his girlfriend. "I will get my way, weather you like it or not." He assures Tony, before taking Ziva to the back room.


	5. Answers

**Chapter 5: Answers**

_I said that the undercover mission wouldn't spill into Chapter 6... and on some level that's true (hehe). I just want to thank _**mprmusings** _for giving me something to work with. Some things I think you want answered: YES, Somalia did happen ;) It is a bit AU, and it this chapter I make Ziva seem a bit weaker then she really is but only because this chapter wouldn't have worked otherwise.  
>(**I'm not sure if I should change the rating of the entire fic because of this chapter, but if you read it and think it should go from T to M, please PM me or write a comment!)<em>  
><strong>**I want everyone to know that things do get a bit graphic in this chapter but not to the point where things go terribly wrong... (if that makes any sense)<strong> Please R&R!

* * *

><p>What did they get themselves into? Tony thinks as he watches Ziva get pulled around the corner to where the two beds lay. Tony wants so badly to chase after Chris and take back the one woman he's ever truly loved. But he can't. While Chris has a gun, Mark has a large knife pointed straight at Tony's chest.<p>

**NCIS*NCIS*NCIS**

Chris' hold on Ziva's arm tightens when she tries to pull away. He turns and drags the Israeli behind the dividing wall before throwing her on the bed closest to them. She falls onto her right side and turns into her stomach to try and crawl away. Chris is twice the size of Ziva easily and the Israeli wonders how she's going to get herself out of this.

"Not today sweet cheeks," Chris wraps his large hands around Ziva's ankles and pulls. She flattens out on the motel bed and flips around onto her back, ready to move if need be.

**NCIS*NCIS*NCIS**

Tony now wishes that he wore the earpiece. He could have just said he had bad hearing or… or what? That he was actually an undercover NCIS agent looking for a murderer? He shakes his head at the thought. Mark catches this and tenses,

"What you thinking about?" Mark waves the knife unceremoniously. Tony puts up his hands in protest. Tony hears the bed squeak and Ziva make a sound as if she were struggling.  
>S<em>he can handle herself, DiNozzo!<em>Tony takes a breath and moves to sit back on the couch. Mark does the same milliseconds later.

"So… how'd you meet, uh, Chris was it? Yeah. How'd you meet Chris?" Tony acts as if what's happening it the other room is all part of a sick dream.

**NCIS*NCIS*NCIS**

Ziva clenches her hands into fists and continues to try and move away from the man standing by her feet. She crawls on her elbows and heels, trying to get as much distance between them. Chris places the small gun on the top of a desk nearby and unzips his baggy jeans. He chuckles lightly, staring at the only part of the Israeli that he really wants.  
>Ziva hits the headboard of the bed and the smile on Chris' face grows.<p>

"Looks like you've run outta room there, delicious." Ziva looks everywhere but at the man towering over her, searching for a way out that wouldn't get Tony hurt in the process.

Chris puts a knee on the corner of the bed and it squeaks loudly. Ziva does something she hasn't done in years… she whimpers. Chris laughs when he hears it.

"Hey, Mark looks like we're gonna get a screamer!" He laughs again and adds his second knee to the edge of the bed.

**NCIS*NCIS*NCIS**

Mark lowers the knife to his side and is now simply waiting for whatever Chris was doing to be over; just like the two agents.  
>Tony is tapping his hand on the armrest when suddenly Chris yells out to them from around the dividing wall.<p>

"Hey, Mark looks like we're gonna get a screamer!" Tony grits his teeth and looks towards Mark. He's got his head down and his hand tight on the pocketknife.

"You're not like Chris, are you Mark?" Tony tries hard not to focus on what is going on in the room next door. Mark looks up and stares at Tony before shaking his head.

"You know what's he's doing is wrong. Why not stop him?" The knife rolls in Mark's hand as he looks down at it.

"I needed money, he helped."

"Letting him get away with this is not how you repay him, Mark." Tony whispers, leaning closer to the man across the table. "C'mon Mark, I need to help my girl. Please let me do it." Mark contemplates this, looks from Tony to the knife and then over to the room with Ziva and Chris inside.

**NCIS*NCIS*NCIS**

His pants are hanging around his knees as he moves to straddle Ziva. Her back is against the headboard and her limbs are numb._  
>Why am I so scared? <em>Ziva chastises herself, as Chris gets closer. He makes to remove her jeans from her waist when Ziva's hands finally come up. She grabs hold of his wrists and pushes, trying to get Chris to stop.

"…No…" Ziva struggles to say, all her energy going into physically trying to get the man off her. She kicks her legs, but they're restricted by the simple weight of Chris on top of her.  
>Suddenly, outside the room, there's a voice.<p>

"Get off her!" The body above Ziva is quickly pushed off to the left of her and is replaced by a side profile of Tony. Chris pulls himself off the ground and moves to attack Tony. Ziva uses this time to roll off the side of the bed and run around to the open archway separating the two rooms. As soon as she makes it to the small area with the couch, chair and coffee table, she notices Mark with the knife standing by the door. She readies herself for a fight when suddenly Mark wraps his hand around the doorknob and swings the feeble motel door open. He runs out and motions for Ziva to follow. She doesn't understand what the man is up to, but decides leaving now is her best chance. Ziva is only one step out the door when she remembers the gun on the desk. She turns to move back towards the room when two arms wrap around her and lift her off her feet.

"C'mon! He's got it under control!" It's Mark. He pulls Ziva away from the door through flailing legs and sharp nails on his arms. He knows how dangerous Chris is and doesn't want to risk watching two people die.

"No! The gun! I need to help!"

"He's got it! C'mon!" Mark tells Ziva. He puts her down but keeps a tight hold on her wrist. Reluctantly she turns, tears threatening, and starts running towards the hotel across the street.

Seconds after Ziva and Mark start through the parking lot of the motel, two shots ring out and Ziva stops in her tracks.  
>A black SUV pulls up to the entrance and Gibbs runs out from the driver's seat. He's feet from the Israeli and quickly pulls her towards him.<p>

"Gibbs! Tony! He's—I need to go help!" Ziva stutters, pointing towards the room they've just run from.

"Okay, Ziver, I've got it!" Gibbs puts a hand on Ziva's face to try and calm her. It doesn't work that well. "You! Get her to that hotel. Someone will meet you in the lobby!" Gibbs points at Mark and he nods in response. Again Mark grabs Ziva's arm and pulls her away from the motel. Gibbs turns towards the room with the open door. Several guests have left their own rooms to check what's going on, but Gibbs blocks them from his mind. He pulls his gun from his hip and jogs towards the room.


	6. Safer

**Chapter 6: Safer**

_I guess you can kind of say this is a filler chapter even though what happens to Tony is revealed. A few things are answered but at the same time, I leave you with more questions (hopefully!). Please R&R!_  
><em><strong>**I don't mean to put off Tiva moments or to explain why Ziva's mad at Tony but if I didn't, the chapter would be three times as long and take that much longer to update!<strong>_

* * *

><p>Tony turns to his side and Chris smashes into the closet doors next to him. His notices Ziva roll from the bed and slip out into the main room just before Chris pulls Tony down to the ground. Tony throws a punch in Chris' direction and catches him in the lower jaw. Chris takes a second knock to the ribcage before sending one in Tony's direction. Chris pushes off of Tony and makes for the desk on the opposite side of the bed. Tony follows Chris' gaze and notices the gun sitting on top of it. He makes a grab for Chris and tightens a hand around his pant leg. Chris trips and Tony pulls himself up before going for the gun too. Tony reaches out for the weapon just as Chris kicks out a leg and catches Tony's ankle. Tony falls forward, knocking over the desk in the process. He turns onto his back just as Chris is about come at him again. Tony cocks the guns and pulls the trigger twice in a row. Chris goes limp and falls back; he hits the closet doors and leaves a red ribbon of blood as he slides down them.<br>Everything goes silent inside the motel room. Then as suddenly as it had gone quiet, sounds come screaming towards Tony. First he hears questioning voices coming from the room next to and above him. Then the one voice he thought he'd never hear again; Ziva's. She was screaming for access to him; wanting to go see if he was okay._  
>At least now I know she's not mad at me…<em> Tony jokes to himself as he goes to get up from the hard carpeted ground.  
>Tony hears Gibbs yell at someone and then footsteps running towards the room. Tony stands, brushes himself off and walks over to feel for a pulse on Chris. Nothing.<br>Tony stretches and cracks his back before making sure the small gun in his hand was safe.

"Tony!" Gibbs calls out.

"In here, boss." Tony assures the silver-haired man that he wasn't the one shot. Gibbs rounds the corner, gun drawn and ready for fire. When he sees the large, lifeless body sitting propped up against the closet doors, he lowers the gun.

"How the hell did you get into this?" Gibbs yells. Tony waits only seconds before responding, not wanting Gibbs to be truly mad at him.

"It's my fault, boss—"

"Oh, I would have never guessed, DiNozzo!"

"I didn't count on the prices of the drugs to be so high. Ziva came and saved my ass. They let us in and we thought it'd be easier to get Intel on the Mills/Bernard case but they wouldn't drop the drug deal." Tony speaks fast, knowing that if he didn't, Gibbs could possibly blow his brains out right there. Sirens roar up the main road by the entrance of the motel

"You not only put Ziver and yourself in danger, but you put everyone around you in just as much jeopardy, DiNozzo." Gibbs lowers his voice as to not explode right there.

"And I'm sorry about that…Is Ziva okay? Where is she?" Tony steps over Chris' body and looks around the corner into the main room, searching for Ziva. The front door swings closed and then open again with the wind.  
>Gibbs walks to the door and holds it open.<p>

"She's with McGee at the hotel."

"Is she okay?" Tony asks a second time when he doesn't get a straight answer. He turns to the door and bolts out, adrenaline coursing, needed to make sure for himself. An ambulance and two police cars pull up to the motel and people make their way to the motel, wanting to know what's happened, but Tony keeps his head low and pushes through the crowd of bystanders, needing to get to Ziva.

Tony walks through the revolving doors of the hotel and quickly scans the lobby for any familiar faces. McGee is standing by the front desk and Tony sees him only afters he raises a hand and waves him down. Tony jogs over to him.

"Where is she?" McGee hands Tony a key card.

"Room 259, fifth floor." Tony nods and takes the elevator up. He is physically shaking and he doesn't understand why. He was safe, Ziva was safe…  
>The elevator dings for the fifth floor and Tony races down the hall on the left. Starting at 250 and increasing, Tony knows room 259 wasn't far off.<br>About twenty metres down the hall, Tony comes to the right room. He unlocks the door quickly with the key card and steps inside.  
>He hears a bed squeak and two thin legs walk around the corner. Tony looks up and his eyes meet Ziva's.<p>

"Tony!" She yells and runs towards the Italian, a smile across her face. Her straightened hair is down completely and the earrings gone. She's added an NCIS windbreaker over her crop top, but was still wearing the jeans from before. She wraps Tony in a tight hug, Tony lifts her off the ground and she wraps her legs around his hips. "God, Tony. I thought you were dead." Ziva starts, pulling her head away from Tony's shoulder so she could look him the eyes again.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily. If I'm ever leaving it's gonna be because you've killed me yourself." Tony smirks, oozing DiNozzo charm. Ziva's jaw drops before turning into a half smile.

"You are terrible, Tony. Just kiss me." And he does, still holding the light Israeli off the ground. The two agents are immersed in the passionate kiss when Tony hears rattling chains coming from around the corner. He breaks off the kiss to look. Again, there's rattling and Tony puts Ziva down.

"I still did not trust him," She informs Tony once she understands what he's responding to. Tony sees a foot, still with a steel-toed boot on it. He creeps around the bend a bit faster and realizes it's just Mark. Tony takes a breath and relaxes before stepping towards him.  
>Mark is picking away at lose threads with his right hand; his left is handcuffed to the headboard when he looks up at Tony.<p>

"I didn't do anything," Mark starts, pointing at the cuffs. He wants to make sure Tony understands that he wouldn't dare. Tony raises his hands in an understanding motion and nods, telling Mark that he didn't need to explain.

"Ziva has a tendency to overreact." Tony tells Mark. Ziva comes up behind him,

"Overreact to what, Tony?" Tony flinches and turns to the Israeli. "Were you not there a few minutes ago?" Ziva asks, hands on her hips. Her tone has turned serious compared to what it was seconds before when they kissed.

"I just mean that you're a bit paranoid…"

"Only a bit?" Ziva squints her eyes.

"No, I didn't say th—" Tony's response is cut off by Mark's chuckling.

"So how long have you been together?" Mark asks as he runs his free hand through his hair. After all the times they've been asked that question, the couple can finally answer honestly. They hesitate, but Tony soon pipes up.

"Only a month."

"But it seems so much longer…" Ziva adds, putting an arm around Tony; their arguing now seized. Tony wraps his own arm around the smaller agent and draws lazy doodles on her shoulder with his finger, now lost in the moment.  
>The three are silent for a few minutes when they hear a beeping come from the hotel room door.<p>

"DiNozzo, David?" Gibbs' booming voice enters the room as soon as he does. Ziva quickly takes her arm off of Tony but he hold his there a second longer. The Israeli grabs the hand wrapped around her, twists it and then throws it to Tony's side, milliseconds before Gibbs rounds the corner. Tony raises his arm and rubs the now red and throbbing wrist.

_Is that why she's mad?_ Tony asks himself as he watched Ziva move to the opposite side of the bed Mark was sitting on.


	7. Case Work

**Chapter 7: Case Work**

_Holy crap! I never thought I'd get so many reviews! I know it's not a lot compared to some stories, but it's a lot for me! Thank you guys for sticking with my ramblings this whole time, and giving me things to work with (eg. things you want answered). This is basically a chapter that kind gets the case out of the way a little bit; the case will probably not interfere with Chapter 8 (because it will be filled with Tiva moments instead) and will be completly out of the picture by Chapter 9/10... unless I decide to ya know, scrap the entire story and delete everything... ;) jks. Please R&R!_

* * *

><p>"Who's this?" Gibbs asks, looking over at Mark. Tony releases his wrist and goes to answer.<p>

"Oh, this is Mark…" Tony states before realizing he doesn't know Mark's last name.

"Ringfield, Mark Ringfield… sir." Mark interjects as he sits up straighter. Gibbs walks up to him and the silver-haired agent steals a glance at Ziva. She pulls the key to the handcuffs from her pocket, reaches over and unlocks the metal restraints before pocketing both the cuffs and the key again.  
>Mark rubs his wrists and then runs a hand through his hair for the second time.<br>The room goes silent once more and Gibbs turns to the two agents behind him.

"Not even three hours inside, and you two screw over the entire Op?" Gibbs' face turns stony. Tony peeks at Ziva from the corner of his eye; she's looking at the ground, finding her dusty shoes more interesting. "We needed information about one thing. One. Thing!" Gibb raises his voice for a split second before calming himself again.

"Ya know, I knew Josh a bit. Don't know much about that Walter guy she was talking about earlier though…I could help," Mark speaks up and points at Ziva when he says 'she'.

"You help us, maybe we can cut a deal," Gibbs looks back at Mark.

"We have a main warehouse about twelve miles from here. There's a bunch of us that get our supplies from there. We buy fairly low, sell high…"

"Regular business men aren't we?" Tony says as he watches the last cop car pull out from the motel, right behind the ambulance holding Chris's body inside. He's changed from the baggy street clothes into better fitting jeans and an NCIS jacket matching Ziva's. Gibbs ignores Tony and pushes for Mark to continue.

"Chris and I, we got there late once and bumped into Josh. We'd heard about him making it big somewhere by the docks and Chris wanted in. He asked Josh where he was getting all the business but he didn't tell him. I guess at the time it was a good idea; you know, not wanting to sell out all your customers to someone else." Mark stops, scratches his chin and continues from there. "We'd seen him around a few time after that, said he was losing trades and he blamed Chris for it. Accused him of following him to the docks. Chris didn't do it though, we were at the motel that same week, never left my sight."

"It is a little late to try and save Chris here, Mark." Ziva informs the man still sitting against the headboard of the hotel bed. Mark nods and tries a different route.

"Chris told me that he heard Josh talking about a new guys he'd met. Said he'd bought out everything Josh had on him, double what he paid to get it in the first place too."

"He got a name?" Gibbs asks, wanting a short answer. Mark shakes his head, sees the disappointed look on Gibbs' face and quickly tries to save himself.

"No, but that's where that Walter guy comes in. I heard Josh telling the buyer that he was gonna get a mutual friend to help transport it. Said they needed someone they both trusted to get the job gone."

"And that friend was Walter…" Tony pulls out his cell and dials McGee. "McGee, where are you?"

"At NCIS with Ducky and Palmer. Gibbs said he had it under control there so I came back here instead."

"Oh, well we have a lead. Try and track all calls, e-mails and anything else that Joshua Mills and Walter Bernard see if they had any close friends in common. Send me the results when you get 'em, okay?"

"Sure thing." The two agents hang up.

**NCIS*NCIS*NCIS**

"Ziver, take Mr. Ringfield back to NCIS. DiNozzo, go with her." Tony tenses.

"What about our stuff back at the motel? I can stay and load it all back up I really—" The Italian explains looking for an excuse not to be stuck in an awkward silence.

"I've already called in a couple techs. They'll pack it up; take it to NCIS along with that beat up old car you got out there, Tony. Shit bucket if you ask me." Gibbs mumbles the last part to himself as he looks out the window at the small blue car.

The ex-Mossad agent walks Mark to the front of the hotel, making sure the cuffs weren't visible at first glance, not wanting to worry any guests. Once outside, Tony opens the back door of Gibb's SUV and Ziva lets Mark get in. She walks to the passenger seat, buckles herself in and waits for Tony to start the engine.  
>As Tony slides into the driver's seat, he chuckles lightly.<p>

"What is so funny, Tony?"

"Nothing, it's just you usually fight me for the keys." DiNozzo waggles the set of car keys in the air between them. Ziva turns to face the front.

"I have got a headache." The smile on Tony's face fades and he starts the car. They drive for only seconds when Mark speaks up.

**NCIS*NCIS*NCIS**

"So… you're… Ziver?" Ziva turns to face the back seats.

"It is Ziva. Gibbs just calls me that as fun."

"'For'. It's 'for fun', Zi." Ziva squints at Tony slightly annoyed that he's still correcting her.

"And you are… Tony?" Mark continues. Tony nods, still watching the road. "Not _Kyle_?" The Italian shakes his head. "Heh, you guys sure are creative when coming up with covers, aren't you?" Mark sits back and looks out the window, glad he's made nice with the agents. The air is thick in the SUV, no one speaks for some time but Tony continuously chances a look at his girlfriend._  
>Does she still even see me as her boyfriend?<em>

He feels the need to stop the car and actually face the facts on this one. So he does. In the middle of town, Tony slows the black vehicle and pulls off to the shoulder of the road.

"Tony, why are you stopping?" Ziva raises her head from her hand propped up on the car door.

"Did I do something?" Tony asks quickly as he pulls the key from the ignition.

"What?"

"Did I do something to make you mad at me?" Ziva takes a deep breath when she understands what Tony is talking about.

"Now is really not—"

"Ziva," Tony's eyes zero in on the Israeli. He was going to talk about this now weather Ziva wanted to or not. It probably wasn't the best idea; with him being stuck in an enclosed space, if she goes off, he's dead.

"I…" Ziva whispers. "I… do not want to _go_… Tony." Ziva looks up at Tony, her eyes slightly glazed over in unshed tears.

"Go where?" Tony shifts in his seat. Cars pass by at high speed and Mark tries to make himself invisible.

"…back." Ziva looks away and starts picking at her nail beds. "I hate it there, Tony. Gibbs, he will tell Vance and he will tell Eli… He will know about us and I will have to go." Tony shuts his eyes and leans back against the seat, understanding more in the last few seconds then he had in days. He takes in a deep breath and then looks back over to Ziva. Her lip is quivering slightly and she's looking back at her nails again.

Ziva was right, now was not a good time to be talking about this.


	8. More Answers

**Chapter 8: More** **Answers**

_Thank you guys for the reivews first of all!  
>I believe this is the chapter you've all been waiting for ;) It's all dialogue, but split into three different scenes all involving at least one different person in each.<br>I'm pretty anxious about putting this chapter up because so many people were looking forward to it. Gives me the feeling that if it's not good enough, you guys will hate it completely; yeah, I'm irrational like that... Please R&R  
><em>

* * *

><p>The entire team arrives back at NCIS. Ziva quickly ushers Mark to an interrogation room around the corner before slinking down to Abby's lab. Tony catches Ziva heading to the elevator and rushes to the stairs, taking two at a time.<br>Ziva hears the elevator ding as it stops on the same floor Abby's lab is on. She pushes herself off of the wall and heads out, looking for her friend.  
>When Abby cannot be found within her lab, Ziva turns to exit. She bumps into Tony's chest and stutters,<p>

"Oh sorry, Tony. I did not mean—"

"Can you please tell me now? I want to help." Tony doesn't let Ziva finish, knowing if he did He wouldn't get a chance to speak and she would be halfway up to the squad room by now. Ziva contemplates for a minute then walks over to two desk chairs in the back part of Abby's office; Tony follows close behind.

"After what happened in Somalia, it has been hard for me to get close to anyone, Tony. I know we were close before all of that happened, it is just…" Ziva wrings her hands and tries again. "This job is so much to me, Tony. I feel welcomed here, not like back in Israel where everyday I thought to be my last. Yes, today was unfortunate, but I did not need to worry that a sniper was to take off my head at any second. Working for Mossad, that was a very likely possibility." Tony peers over at Ziva, she looks so small in Abby's large black desk chair. "If Vance and Gibbs find out, it could all go only a few ways. Either I go back to Israel and my father makes me work for Mossad again, I stay here and you get transferred, or—"

"…Or we stop seeing each other all together, yeah." Ziva's lip begins to quiver as she nods.

"I fear that every time we physically get close, someone will be there to tell Gibbs behind our backs. That is why I was mad at you, I hated that you took our relationship so slightly. I have more to lose then you do Tony, I hate to say it but it is true. You have been offered jobs in the passed; I have not. My options that end positively are limited, essentially it is this or death."

"You got mad back at the crime scene with the pool incident not because of the whole 'body in the water' thing… but because you thought Gibbs would find out?" Tony begins, putting the pieces together. Ziva nods and a single tear escapes from her eye. She wrings her hands tighter, trying to bottle the feelings back up inside. "And at the hotel, when Gibbs walked in, and my hand was around you…" Another nod. "But before that, when I first walked in you didn't hesitate to kiss me because,"

"Because I knew no one was there to mouse us out." This time Ziva locks eyes with the Italian. Tony decides not to ruin the moment by correcting Ziva and just waits for her to continue. "I believe a good relationship is based on friendship. You mean more to me than Michael and Ray together, Tony because I did not know them as a friend before we got serious. I cannot afford to lose you…"

Tony remembers back to CI-Ray. Ray had proposed to Ziva and she told Tony she wanted to go for it, that she _loved_ Ray. If she was that in love with Ray that she was willing to marry him, and Tony means even more to her than Ray did…

"I never took our relationship slightly, Zi. You know how much I love you! It's just that I've always messed with you like that. If I didn't give you a hard time—that's when people would start thinking something's up." Tony chuckles at his own words, causing Ziva to smirk. She reaches up and wipes away a few leftover tears before taking Tony's hand in hers.

"Promise me something, Tony? Promise you won't make this too hard for me…"  
>Tony isn't fully aware of what Ziva means by that, but promises her anyway.<p>

After the talk in Abby's lab, Tony gives Ziva a few hours to cool down, to gather her thoughts. During that time, he decides to meet with Gibbs to talk about the mission and how they are to handle it now that their covers have been blown.

**NCIS*NCIS*NCIS**

"Vance wanted this team on the case, DiNozzo. Do you know why?" Gibbs asks standing in front of the Italian beside a vending machine.

"Because, we're the closest ones to his office and he doesn't have to put n extra work to get a job done?" Tony tries to lighten the mood. He receives his first head slap of the day.

"Because we are the best. He trusts us to come through and catch a murderer."

"You know, he also thought we could head a drug bust even though that's not in our jurisdiction, boss…" Gibbs gives Tony a sideways glare.

"You let me down, I can't have my agents getting hurt all the time." Gibbs settles and sighs loudly.  
>Tony watches Gibbs pace the room slowly, when he finally speaks up.<p>

"This isn't only about the case is it?" Gibbs scoffs as if to say 'no, really?' "What else is there?" The older agent stops moving around the room and looks at Tony. "This is about _Ziva_? You know?"

"I've known since the beginning, DiNozzo. I'm not stupid." Pause. "I see that she's mad… or sad… about something, and she's been that way for only a bit. I can't think of anything that would make her mad right now but you." Tony furrows his brow. _Was Gibbs accusing him of hurting Zi?_

"I wouldn't dare hurt—"

"Not on purpose, you wouldn't." Silence.

"Wait, boss. I…I don't understand."

"I've seen how seriously you take this job, I also see how much you love her; If you can't handle an undercover mission, how do you think I see you handling Ziva? She's a tough girl, been through a lot. If anyone here knows that, it'd be you, DiNozzo." Tony never looked at it that way. He castigates himself for not seeing it earlier. "She's different, sure, but I can't afford to lose any of my agents because you guys can't work things out."

Again the room goes quiet. Gibbs pulls a dollar bill from his pocket, gives it to the vending machine, punches in a few digits on the keypad and soon sticks his hand under the flap at the bottom. "You don't need to worry, DiNozzo." Gibbs finishes and smacks a small bag of chips onto Tony's chest before walking down the hall to Interrogation.

Gibbs and Mark recite the conversation they had in the hotel room in the small, square Interrogation room, making sure it was on tape. Mark's story matches almost word for word and Gibbs makes the deal as promised; No murder charges and the drug charge only gives him 90 days in jail because of confessing to dealing large quantities of cocaine.

Gibbs rounds the corner to the squad room just as Mark is being pulled away by a couple local police officers. Ziva catches Mark at the corner of her eye and quickly jogs over to him.

"Officers, may I have a word with him?" She asks in a hushed tone. The four of them are standing by the elevator and a man pushing a mail cart struggles to get by. The officers nod and add a few feet between them and Mark. Ziva takes a breath; she's been needing to do that a lot more often lately. "I wanted to thank you, Mark. If it was not for you, I might not be here."

Mark is a smart man and he knows Ziva doesn't just mean physically _here._

"Hey you really need to thank that Tony dude. If it wasn't for him…" Mark stops when he sees a thin smile cross Ziva's lips.

"Thank you, for knowing better." Ziva says even softer then the first time around. She hugs Mark around the shoulders, not expecting anything back considering he was still handcuffed. "_Thank you._" She whispers in Mark's ear. Ziva releases the young man and backs up allowing the two officers to come back to Mark's sides.

"You know that Tony guy… You mean a lot to him, I see that." Mark smirks. "And that's sayin' something." The elevator dings and the three men enter it. Seconds later, they're gone.


	9. Wrapping Up

**Chapter 9: Wrapping Up**

_Okay... this is the LAST chapter of this fic. I might make a part two or something, but create a whole second fic for it so this one doesn't get too too long.  
>I hope it's an okay kind of ending, I'm never good with cutting stories off. I know this wasn't as TIVA infused as most of you hoped, and I'm sorry for that, I'm still learning! And I know Abby's not even in this fic and I didn't really think out the story before hand it was all kind of 'get this on (metephorical)paper before you forget it' type of thing sooo... yeah... Please R&amp;R!<em>

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><p>McGee is following up on a lead when Tony walks into the bullpen, small chip bag in hand. Tony tips the bag so the last of its contents fall right into his mouth. Ziva walks into the squad room after talking with Mark and seeing Tony's stomach open, makes a move to slap it playfully. She's taken Tony's explanation into account and has started to 'act normal' as Tony put it. Tony coughs on the chip crumbs and flinches when the back of her hand makes contact with his abdomen. Ziva chuckles and Tony recovers quickly, glad Ziva's mood has changed, even just a little.<p>

"Uh, guys…" McGee interjects, looking up from his computer after hours of searching. The other two agents stop and meet McGee's gaze. "I think I've got something."

"Can you put it on the screen, McGee?" Gibbs asks, already knowing he will. McGee pressed a few keys on his keyboard and the screen comes to life. It is a copy of both the Bernard family's phone calls and Joshua Mills' side by side. The number originally highlighted had been deselected and a new set of phone numbers were beaming up at the team of agents.

"I found a couple numbers in common, but they belonged to an electrical company and the local plumber, both used by most people in the area. This is the only number that showed up as a cell phone belonging to a single person; Andre Gould. He lived here most of his life, when he was twenty he moved to Portugal for a few years; just moved back here a month ago."

"Maybe Josh and Walter got into an argument with Gould, wanted him back over seas so they could get more cocaine sold?" Ziva questions, offering up a motive to kill the men.  
>McGee went back to his keyboard and brought up an employment record.<p>

"Oh lookie here," Tony points out, "Andre works on the same boat Mills did. Works with loading and unloading supplies… how convenient. Started as soon as he came back here from Portugal."

"Was he at work today, McGee?" Ziva asks; there's more typing. Then,

"Nope, left early the day of Mills' murder, hasn't been back since. I can send his address to your cells."

"Ziva, DiNozzo. Let's go." Gibbs states as he gathers his jacket and heads for the elevator. Ziva and Tony trail closely behind and jump into the closing elevator. The two younger agents are a step behind Gibbs inside the small box and Tony makes a grab for Ziva's hand hanging next to his. Ziva is caught off guard and quickly tries to jerk her hand away; but Tony tightens his grip and turns his head slightly to get a better look at the woman next to him. She's bewildered by what Tony has just done and tries to wriggle free without Gibbs noticing. Tony keeps his hold firm, and stares at Ziva longer. She looks up at him, then to Gibbs and back. Not being able to get out of the hold without Gibbs noticing, Ziva quits fussing and looks ahead again. That's when she sees her blurred and somewhat distorted figure reflecting back at her off of the closed elevator door. Gibbs had seen what Tony did, and what Ziva had done in response—and done nothing about it. The Israeli looks back at Tony, a smile lighting up his face when he notes that she'd figured it out.  
>Ziva smirks and turns back to face the front; she meets Gibbs' gaze in the reflected figure of him and he smiles too. She tightens her grip on Tony's hand reassuring him that she knows what he does.<p>

"Just don't get us all killed, got it?" Gibbs speaks up, faintly surprising the other two agents. Knowing how relationships in the workplace can affect job performance, Tony quickly chimes in,

"Don't worry boss; our heads are…_fairly_…clear." Ziva chuckles at this and Gibbs smiles again. The elevator dings for the ground floor, the three agents step off and make their way to the garage to get into their designated SUVs.  
>The agents speed up to Gould's place about ten minutes later.<p>

"Ya know, This guy would be pretty stupid to stay at his place after killing two people…" Tony whispers as they tip-toe their way to the front door.

"Well, Tony he was buying cocaine and helping distributed it to a country on the opposite side of the world; only idiots would actually try something like that." Tony shakes his head at Ziva's inability to understand a rhetorical statement, but smirks as he does so. _She's cute that way_, he thinks to himself.

"DiNozzo, take the front. Ziver, back door." Gibbs interrupts the mini fight about to catch fire in front of him and puts the two agents minds back onto the task at hand. Ziva nods and jumps down from the front porch and makes her way silently to the backyard. After a five second count, Tony kicks in the door and rushes in, Gibbs tailing close behind.  
>Ziva moves in from the back door, which leads into the kitchen. She checks her left and then right as she makes her way to the next room.<p>

"Clear." She whispers, knowing the second was still to be checked.

Tony when upstairs and Gibbs checks the opposite of the first floor as Ziva makes her way up the flight of stairs too.  
>There's rustling in a corner room and Tony watches as the light on the far wall disappears and reappears suddenly, indicating someone's walked by the window inside the room. He turns sharply and heads towards the partially closed door. Ziva is close behind him, and Gibbs behind her. Tony creeps up to peer into the room. It's quiet for a minute and then Tony busts into the room. A man can be seen with one foot out an open window along with his head. Tony tackles the man to the ground without question and quickly subdues him. Ziva walks around the suspect and pulls a flimsy wallet from his back pocket.<p>

"This is harassment! Police brutality!" The man struggles to get free, throwing weak punches into the air. He catches Tony in the gut and Tony tightens his grip on the man's arms.

"He's simply protecting himself, Andre." Ziva states, confirming that the man Tony had tackled was indeed Andre Gould.

"Why were you running? Huh?" Tony asks as he cuffs Gould and lifts him from the ground.

"Though you were some guys coming to even a score with me…"

"Yeah, and that's why you yelled 'police brutality' before you even saw us coming, right?" Gibbs clears up the situation.

"We know what you did, Gould. Smuggling, murder, assaulting a police officer—" Ziva checks off charges on her well manicured fingers.

"Hey! I didn't assault no cop!"

"You caught me in the stomach, dude. Should have stopped struggling." Tony points out and Andre huffs, leaning back against a wall.

**NCIS*NCIS*NCIS**

Back at NCIS, Andre wasn't talking; yet.  
>We have phone calls, eye witness reports, we can back-track on the money and find out you bought the coke from Joshua Mills and Walter Bernard, Gould!" Tony addressed the evidence to Andre; the third part was an obvious lie, but Andre didn't seem smart enough to figure that out on his own. Truthfully, the team didn't have much to go on. They had next to no hard evidence so they only solid way of closing this case was to get a confession to the murders.<p>

He seemed to get a little more upset with every passing minute. It was only a matter of time before—

"Okay! Okay… I—I bought some coke from Josh and Walter and started selling it in Portugal once Josh got it on the boat. It lasted a couple years but I got sick of it didn't want to risk being caught. I came back and told them I didn't want to keep selling it. The cops there were catching on and shifting through the shipments more often. I just wanted to change where I was selling but Josh insisted that I keep going. Said he had a big deal coming in soon and he needed me back there. We got into a fight and I pulled the knife on him—but only in self defence!"

"If it was self defence, why didn't you call the cops?" Tony asked, happy that he'd gotten Andre to crack.

"Dude, I was selling coke to people in Portugal, why the hell would I go to the cops?" That was true, Tony though for a moment.

"If killing Mills was an accident, what happened with Bernard?" Andre pondered this for a moment. Tony had him under his thumb.

"He was there when we'd gotten into the fight, but ran off before I could stop him. I was scared he'd tell..."

"That's enough to be considered a confession if I'm right." Tony said, mostly to himself. He left the room leaving Gould there to think over his future… or lack thereof.

The Italian made his way to the observation room, knowing that a certain someone would be inside it. He turned the doorknob and entered the dark room. A thin, petite figure stood, still looking through the one-way mirror at Andre. Tony cleared his throat and Ziva turned. She smiled and clicked off the mic to the room opposite the mirror.

"Well, I believe we got him now that we have his confession, yes?"

"Mhmm…" Tony hums and he pulls the Israeli closer to him; Ziva giggles and places her hands on Tony's chest.

"Tony… at work?" There is a hint of legitimate hesitation in her voice. Although knowing Gibbs was okay with what they did _outside_ of work, it didn't mean he was okay with what happened inside an observation room.

"Why not? No one's here," Tony pecks the corner of Ziva's mouth and it turns up into a big grin. She kisses back, making it passionate within seconds. Tony's hands begin to explore the curves of Ziva's lower back and stomach before creeping up higher under her shirt. The kiss is deep and fanatical; their tongues just start to get into a battle of their own when the door to the room opens. The two agents pull apart quickly. Ziva is caught awkwardly wiping the corner of her mouth and pulling down the left side of her shirt while Gibbs stands in the darkly lit doorway. Tony straightens out his suit jacket and coughs, trying to clear his throat, mostly out of the awkwardness of the situation. Gibbs turns, shaking his head slightly, but in a way that tells the couple he isn't justifiably mad at them.

"Charge Gould and go home you two… you deserve it." Gibbs turns the rest of the way around and leaves the two agents alone once more. They exchange a look of confusion, but listen to Gibbs' orders to a tee, leaving the building within the hour.


End file.
